Snooping 101: Fourteen Ways to Get the Goods on Anyone

It’s Snooping 101. Here are 14 ways to get information on anyone, from how to conduct a public records database search to home surveillance equipment to how to find patterns in credit reports. Sneaky stuff for all you Columbo-types out there. Infographic.

aNewDomain.net — I love this Snooping 101 infographic. It includes 14 ways to get the goods on anyone — from where to find public records, how to spot patterns in Internet usage and credit card reports to how and whether to install home surveillance equipment. You’d have to head to the NSA to get a better course on Snooping 101.

The Snooping 101 infographic, submitted to aNewDomain by Lucky via WhoIsHostingThis.com, starts with the obvious. Begin by searching social networks to get the goods on someone — and then search the heck out of Internet databases that are likely to include your subject. The graphic below suggests great resources to do the latter.

But then it gives great advice on how to do public record searches and criminal records searches — and the best sites to run them on. If it’s someone close to home or in your home you want to learn, um, more about, there’s always the so-called nanny cam. There are countless YouTube videos that show how to install and use such devices. And, yes, there’s the tried-and-true method of examining receipts and credit card transactions. How legal is your snooping? That angle is covered in Snooping 101, too.

Snooping 101 is a handy reference for reporters, would-be employers of home workers, would-be Columbo-types or anyone else who wants to know more about someone the legal way.

The Snooping 101 infographic also is a good way to understand how other folks can get the goods on YOU. Thanks, Lucky!

Gina Smith is the New York Times best-selling author of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak’s memoir, iWoz Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer and Had Fun Doing It (W.W. Norton, 2005/2007/2012). With John C. Dvorak and Jerry Pournelle, she is the editorial director at aNewDomain.net. Email her at gina@aNewDomain.net, check out her Google + stream here or follow her @ginasmith888.